


Border Crossing

by danceswithgary



Series: Screen Savor [14]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Photography, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-07-04
Updated: 2010-07-04
Packaged: 2017-10-10 09:31:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/98176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/danceswithgary/pseuds/danceswithgary
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He had to admit that the photo represented the two of them perfectly - a little worn and faded at the edges, different but together. Set in the <b>Screen Savor</b> 'verse, sometime after <b>Remember When</b>. May be read standalone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Border Crossing

John smiled when he caught sight of the picture on Rodney's personal screen saver. He had to admit that the photo represented the two of them perfectly - a little worn and faded at the edges, different but together. His memory of the morning before Rodney had taken the picture was a bonus.

~/~

"…worn to the bone, exhausted, wiped out, beat, bushed…."

"I got it the first time, buddy. It's been a long week and we're both tired."

"I need food, a shower, and sleep. My brain's too fuzzy to figure out which one comes first."

"Teyla told me she left us some food in our fridge, so we'll eat then shower and fall into bed."

John thinks the door to their apartment open and steers Rodney inside, narrowly preventing him from bouncing off the edge of the frame as he stumbles inside. They both strip down to their boxers the instant the door closes, not wanting to track the dust and grime from MX-7654 through the rest of the rooms, propping themselves against the wall to avoid tipping over. Pointing Rodney to the table, John retrieves the food, and then they both make short work of the sandwiches and juice, Rodney only making a token objection to the lack of coffee between yawns.

Although it was only 1400 hours Atlantis time, neither man is willing to attempt to stay up until a 'reasonable hour' before sleeping. They'd learned from experience that whenever they switch between planets and time zones for more than a few days at a time, trying to keep any type of normal sleep schedule becomes next to impossible. Three different planets in six days, the last one with a planetary rotation of thirty-three hours and a rainforest climate, equals crashing no matter what time of day it is now that they're home.

Their shower together is practical and brief; days of dirt and sweat removed as quickly and efficiently as possible with no time wasted on enjoyment of the experience. A quick dry off, don t-shirts and boxers off the top of the clean pile, and then they crawl into bed, curl around each other, and sleep too deep for dreams.

~/~

John's bladder is his first priority when he wakes sometime later. He carefully slips out from under Rodney's heavy arm and heads for the bathroom, noting along the way that the sun is just barely peeking over the distant horizon. He finishes the necessary quickly, yawning as he washes his hands, and then he rejects brushing his teeth because it would wake him up and snuggling with a sleep-warm Rodney is much more appealing.

Rodney mutters irritably when John slips back into bed, but then he reaches out and pulls John close, sliding his broad hand under John's shirt to ruffle the hair on his belly. John can't help grinning when Rodney snuffles against his shoulder and grumbles, "Too early. Sle-e-e-e-e-ep," and turns on his side to tuck a leg between Rodney's so they're even closer.

After a few minutes, John's beginning to feel a little too warm, so he wiggles his t-shirt off and drops it over the side of the bed, and then discovers he was a little too vigorous and Rodney's awake. He drops a kiss on Rodney's scowl and offers an apology. "Sorry, too hot."

Grinning, Rodney reaches out and tweaks a nipple in return. "Yes, you certainly are." He pushes John onto his back and kisses him back, sharing his morning breath, which doesn't bother John since he knows he's not any sweeter smelling himself. Rodney's hands are as busy as his mouth, re-acquainting themselves with John's body after too many days and nights spent in separate beds off world. John's not missing much himself, sliding his hands under Rodney's worn-soft t-shirt to touch the soft skin of his back and then lower, easily slipping his boxers down until Rodney kicks them off to join John's shirt on the floor.

The t-shirt, which John had bought him as a joke and Rodney never wore outside the apartment, doesn't make it that far, ending up tangled in the covers with the no-longer-quite-so-bright boxers Rodney had presented to him in smiling retaliation. It doesn't matter since both of them are too busy with hands and mouths to care about clothing after it's no longer in the way.

At John's impatient urging, Rodney reverses his position, so that John can take him in without losing his own perfect spot inside Rodney's mouth. They start out slow, wanting to take their time and savor the taste and touches, but neither of them can hold back for long. Rodney's hips jerk, almost choking John until he's able to steady them, but then John's too lost in sensation to do much more than hold on, groaning around Rodney and then swallowing as Rodney loses it too.

It takes a few minutes, and some cautious re-positioning, before they're settled again. John smiles at Rodney's contented sigh and then laughs when he says, "I'm starving. Breakfast?" Giving up on more sleep, John nods and abandons the bed for quick shower, saying, "We have the day off. Think about what you want to do that's _not_ work-related."

He's under the water when Rodney calls out from the bedroom, "Did you realize we missed celebrating both holidays this past week?" John doesn't answer right away, waiting until he's dried off and his teeth brushed before he walks back into the bedroom to say, "So, we'll put together a picnic on the balcony. As far as fireworks…." He stops as he realizes what Rodney is doing and smiles at the colorful rumpled mess they'd left behind.

Rodney lowers his camera and grins as he finishes John's sentence. "We'll make our own."

 

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [BJ Friday's prompt - Independence Day" and ](http://melagan.livejournal.com/204608.html)[McSheplets Challenge #75: Pride](http://community.livejournal.com/mcsheplets/211014.html).


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